The Cowan Travel Trifecta
One of the first conversations Adam and I ever had was centered around travel. A follow up discussion included my gentle insistence that Disney World was not the only place in this world to safely travel.
Since those early conversations, we have samples a variety of vacation types. Of course, the Disney World vacation, but also European road trip style vacations, and all inclusive Caribbean resorts. We've stayed in hotels, resorts, rented homes, driven in foreign countries, and used local public transportation. In short, in the nine years that we've been married, we've gotten as well rounded as our travel budgets and available time off from work will allow: 6 Disney trips, 4 Dominican Republic all-inclusive trips, 1 Mexico all-inclusive trip, and activity heavy trips to Bermuda, Iceland, and Portugal.
For us, that variety also represents different levels of vacation activity, planning, and attentiveness. Sometimes we like the idea of finding our way around somewhere completely new and exploring as much as we can. Other times, we just don't want to either think or move around much (or both).
Between October 2019 and June 2020 we will be completing the Cowan Travel Trifecta with trips to Disney World, the all-inclusive Sea Breeze Beach House in Barbados, and a week renting a house on the Portuguese island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. I don't know which one I'm more excited for, but I can tell you they run the gamut when it comes to forethought, planning, attention and activity level.
October 2019 Sea Breeze Beach House, Barbados (The Do Nothing But Relax Vacation)
An all inclusive beach vacation. This is the ultimate in Cowan relaxation vacations. Planning one of these usually involves a spreadsheet. In the past we've done this style of vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. There is a resort group there that we really like on a nice stretch of beach. But, during the time we were considering booking this beach get away, there was some pretty sketchy press involving crimes against American tourists - including one event at the hotel we had last stayed at. So, the search was on. "Hey Google, what are the safest islands in the Caribbean?" The answer was Barbados. The size and relative safety of the island gave us some options, but in the end we decided that we still were looking for an all-inclusive style vacation and complete relaxation. That is where the most research time was spent before booking this trip: resort ratings, food options, room styles, general resort aesthetic, how inclusive was each inclusive... Once the trip was booked though, if you'll pardon the pun, everything else was a Breeze.
March 2020 Disney World (The Fat Camp, but with Great Food, Tourist Trap Vacation)
A no brainer for us planning wise. If rough dates and budget are known, I can effectively plan a Disney trip in under an hour - including which restaurants we want to eat at and what rides to get fast passes for. Admittedly, this is ONLY because we've done it so many times. If I'm being honest, I spent FAR more than an hour browsing menus, reading the Disney Food Blog and anything similar I can get my hands on because that is fun for me, but not necessary to make and execute a great trip.
Our onsite experience and multiple trips also mean that for us, Disney is now a fairy low key vacation. We don't rush. We don't try to jam everything into one day. We don't worry about it if we miss out on a ride or show. It's ok. We know we'll be back. Disney though is often our most active vacation as walk an average of 10 miles a day during these adventures! Which is also good, considering how our vacations now largely revolve around which Signature Restaurants we are visiting...
June 2020 Sao Miguel, Azores (The Immersive Cultural Experience/Road Tripy Vacation)
This is the broadest reaching active trip type for us. Similar to our Bermuda and Iceland adventures, we'll dive into a different culture, different language, lots to explore, rent a house, rent a car, plan some excursions, make use of grocery stores, etc... This type of trip doesn't include quite as much daily walking as Disney, but we'll still be fairly active as we stop to check out the sights on each day's drive. We learned from our Bermuda trip that a good way to be sure that we still get to enjoy our accommodations and feel rested is to only plan 1/2 days of activities and leave room for some spontaneity. So on Sao Miguel, we will be exploring trails and lookout points, visiting the only European tea plantations, taking an off shore fishing trip, checking out a very unique hot spring, strolling black sand beaches, shopping the farmer's markets, and wandering city centers with buildings that that existed 200 years before the US even became a country... This trip involves the most planning of the three types. Reservations, activity options, drive times, expense planning, meal planning, driving rules... this vacation also requires the most thinking while we are there.
That's it, our Cowan Travel Trifecta: the do nothing, the tourist trap, and the foreign road trip vacation. Each plays to different travel wants and needs for us as different times. Barbados was planned after spending 10 weeks worth of weekends on our camp renovation - when rest and recharge was the biggest priority. The Azores was planned to celebrate youngest child's high school graduation and get our young travel buddy one more stamp in his passport and further expand his world view. And Disney? Well, Adam would go twice a year if we could afford it and I would agree to it. Disney is kind of our default setting or the bell that needs to be rung every couple of years at the most. (I blame the Disney marketing machine... the commercials, they taunt us...)